The present invention is directed to a furnace that provides heated circulation air to an interior comfort space such as a home or a commercial building. The invention is concerned with a cell panel design which provides for ease of removal of the cell panel and heat exchanger cells without the necessity of having to dismantle the furnace cabinet.
In a forced air furnace, the circulation air blower is supported on a horizontal blower shelf beneath the heat exchanger cell. Most current furnace designs provide a blower shelf that fits from the back of the casing all the way to the front of the furnace. With this design the result is either a tight fitting difficult to assemble part or a loose fitting part. A loose fitting joint formed by the blower shelf and cell panel can create an air leak under the burner assembly disrupting combustion. This typical prior art structure is illustrated more clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,761 which is incorporated herein by reference.
A further disadvantage of this prior art structure is that it prevents removal of the cell panel and heat exchanger without removing the flange of the top plate. The current prior art design also prevents the blower from being inserted directly into position without rotating the blower, which causes difficulties for service personnel.
It can therefore be seen that there is a need for a cell panel design which addresses and overcomes the problems of the prior art described above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a cell panel design which facilitates easy assembly and disassembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a cell panel which facilitates the installation and removal of the blower assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a cell panel design which eliminates air leaks under the burner assembly.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for a unitized high strength panel design which contains a shelf extension.
The present invention is directed to a cell panel for a furnace which provides for ease of removal of the cell panel and cells without the necessity of having to dismantle the furnace cabinet. The design is a single piece cell panel and front blower shelf in the shape of an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d with the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d bend adding strength to the cell panel.
The panel has a sloping shelf allowing the cell panel and heat exchangers to move down toward the center of the furnace avoiding the flange of the top plate. This feature allows the heat exchanger bundle to be removed from the furnace without having to remove any parts of the casing and few internal parts. The cell panel further contains a shortened blower shelf which makes it easier to install in the furnace cabinet. The design further contains an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d offset of the blower shelf which allows the blower rails to extend below the height of the shelf created by the cell panel extension. This design allows the blower assembly to be inserted straight into the furnace cabinet without any rotation, which is an ergonomic benefit to the assembler since the blower assembly does not have to be rotated into place. Another advantage of the cell panel shelf extension is that the typical joint formed by the blower shelf and cell panel can create an air leak under the burner assembly disrupting combustion. The present design also eliminates the joint under the burner. In addition, the sharply bent shelf extension adds significant strength to the cell panel